Author: Emily Harper

Walmart has reported solid first-quarter performance despite an increasingly challenging economic environment. The retail giant posted net sales of $165.88 billion, representing a 2.7% increase compared to the same quarter last year. However, its net income fell by 9% to $4.64 billion, a decline largely attributed to rising import costs driven by newly imposed U.S. tariffs on key trading partners including China, Mexico, and Canada. The company maintained its full-year sales forecast of 3% to 4% growth, with projected adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.50 to $2.60 for fiscal year 2026. Executives remain confident that Walmart’s scale…

Tassili n’Ajjer and new policies put Algeria on the tourism map. In the heart of the Algerian Sahara, one of the most remote and captivating regions on Earth is finally opening its doors to international visitors. Tassili n’Ajjer National Park — a vast, rocky wilderness filled with prehistoric art, desert silence, and spiritual depth — has long been inaccessible to most travelers. That is rapidly changing. Thanks to new visa policies and government investment, Algeria is embracing tourism like never before. In 2023, the country saw a record 3.3 million visitors, including 2.2 million foreigners. With a goal of reaching…

Golf legend Walter Hagen’s century-old secret resurfaces at PGA Championship. As the PGA Championship returns this week at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, all eyes are once again on the Wanamaker Trophy — one of the most iconic and prestigious awards in professional golf. But few may realize that this legendary piece of silverware was once lost under mysterious circumstances, nearly a century ago, by none other than Walter Hagen, one of the greatest golfers in history. At 28 inches tall and weighing 27 pounds, the Wanamaker Trophy is not easy to misplace. Yet that’s exactly what happened after Hagen’s…

José “Pepe” Mujica, former president of Uruguay and one of Latin America’s most unique political figures, died at the age of 89 after a long battle with cancer. His life was a journey of radical transformation, from an armed revolutionary in the 1960s to a beloved president and moral icon by the 2010s. Born in Montevideo, Mujica became active in politics as a member of the Tupamaros, a leftist urban guerrilla group that sought to challenge the Uruguayan state through armed struggle. The group carried out high-profile operations, including bank robberies and kidnappings, as part of a broader push for…

Tariffs, AI Features, and Subtle Tweaks Could Mask Cost Increases Apple could be preparing to raise the effective price of its next iPhone lineup this fall—without officially changing the sticker price. While the company hasn’t confirmed any such move, analysts and recent reports suggest Apple is weighing strategies to offset mounting tariff costs and shifting production realities, potentially without triggering public backlash or political scrutiny. The upcoming iPhone 17 series may include pricing changes driven by new features, premium models, or adjustments to storage options, rather than a direct increase in base price. According to a Wall Street Journal report,…

A rare cosmic event has offered NASA scientists a unique opportunity to study Uranus—one of the solar system’s most mysterious and least-explored planets. Using a distant star as a natural backlight, researchers were able to observe the ice giant’s atmosphere, rings, and puzzling thermal behavior without needing to send a spacecraft. A Cosmic Trick to See the Invisible Uranus recently passed in front of a distant star located around 400 light years from Earth, creating what scientists call a “stellar occultation.” This rare alignment allowed researchers to observe how the planet’s atmosphere bent and filtered the star’s light. As the…

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a $1.45 million civil penalty to settle claims brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The investment banking giant was cited for failing to accurately report data on tens of billions of stock trades. According to FINRA, the inaccuracies arose from long-standing coding issues that resulted in the improper reporting of over 36.6 billion trades to the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT)—a centralized system regulators use to monitor and reconstruct U.S. equity and options markets. The CAT system plays a crucial role in identifying and preventing market abuse. By failing to provide accurate trade…

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed a bold foreign policy move by announcing plans to lift longstanding sanctions on Syria. This shift comes in the wake of the collapse of the Assad regime and the emergence of a new leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa, signaling a significant reconfiguration of Middle Eastern geopolitics. The announcement was made during a high-profile economic forum in Riyadh, where Trump appeared alongside Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. The decision reflects growing regional coordination and renewed engagement between the U.S. and the Middle East. Though formal diplomatic relations with the new Syrian government have not yet been…

The United Kingdom government has announced major changes to its immigration strategy, directly impacting international students and the higher education sector. Among the most significant updates is the decision to reduce the duration of the Graduate Route – a post-study visa pathway that previously allowed international graduates to remain and work in the UK for two years. That period will now be shortened to 18 months. The Graduate Route has been especially popular with students from developing nations who often rely on the additional time to gain work experience and recover the high costs of tuition. While the new policy…

In April 2025, U.S. inflation continued its cooling trend for a third consecutive month, with consumer prices rising just 2.3% year-over-year—the slowest increase in over four years, despite the impact of some tariffs implemented under President Donald Trump. Monthly inflation also remained modest at 0.2%. Notably, grocery prices dropped 0.4%, with egg prices falling 12.7%, marking their steepest drop since 1983, although still significantly higher than a year ago. However, economists caution that this relief may be temporary. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, remained steady at 2.8% annually. Analysts predict inflation could rise in coming months as the…